Video Conferencing - Recording Zoom Meetings


Introduction

Zoom is a versatile video conferencing tool that unifies cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings, group messaging, and a software-defined conference room solution into one easy-to-use platform. You can host and join Zoom video conferences from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. 

The Zoom Help Center has full instructions on using Zoom. The instructions below are specific to Virginia Tech. To see other Zoom topics, please see Video Conferencing - Holding Zoom Conferences on a PC or Mobile Device.

This article details how to record meetings in Virginia Tech Zoom.

  • You can record your Zoom meetings and save them on the Zoom cloud or to your computer.
    • Meetings saved to the Zoom cloud appear in My Media (Kaltura) in Canvas until the end of Spring 2026 semester, when Kaltura becomes read-only.
    • Zoom cloud recordings are now available for 2 years for sharing, downloading, or uploading to Panopto. See Viewing and Sharing Recordings on the Cloud.
    • Give your meetings unique names, so it's easier to find the recordings. 
  • You cannot record a Zoom meeting locally onto a mobile device.
  • Only hosts can record meetings, unless they allow others to record by elevating a participant to a co-host during a meeting.

Contents

Instructions

Recording Meetings to the Cloud or on Your Computer

From the Zoom Client

  1. During a Zoom meeting in the Zoom client, click Record and choose whether to Record on this computer or Record to the cloud.
    Image of the above instructions
  2. To pause your recording, click the Pause icon. To stop recording, click the Stop icon.
    Image of the above instructions
  3. Recording will automatically stop when you end the meeting. 
    • If you recorded to the cloud, Zoom will notify you when the recording is ready. Zoom cloud recordings are removed after 2 years.
    • Meetings recorded to the Zoom cloud appear in My Media in Canvas until the end of Spring 2026 semester. If you want Zoom meetings to populate in Panopto, Virginia Tech's new video content management system, meetings must be scheduled through the Zoom LTI in Canvas after May 17th, 2026.
    • If you recorded on your computer, you can view the recording immediately. 

From the Mobile App

  • You cannot record locally on a mobile device.
  • Only hosts and co-hosts can start a cloud recording.
    • If you want a participant to start a recording, you can make them a co-host or use local recording.
    • Recordings started by co-hosts will only appear in the host's list of recordings in the Zoom web portal.
  1. During a meeting, tap the screen to display the meeting menu. 
  2. Tap Record.
    Image of the above instructions
  3. Tap Start Recording. Cloud recording will begin. 
    • You cannot record Zoom meetings locally to your mobile device.  
      Image of the above instructions
  1. To pause or stop recording, tap the Record button on the menu bar. Tap Pause Recording or Stop Recording.
    Image of the above instructions
  2. Tap Stop to confirm you want to stop recording.
    Image of the above instructions

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Viewing and Sharing Recordings on the Cloud

Recordings saved to the Zoom cloud appear in My Media in Canvas until the Spring 2026 semester ends and Virginia Tech begins using Panopto as its main video content management system. After this, Zoom cloud recordings are not automatically transferred to Panopto unless scheduled through the Zoom LTI in Canvas. 

In order to support this updated workflow, the Zoom cloud recording retention policy has been extended to two years, allowing you to share Zoom videos directly without the links expiring after a few months.

See Managing and sharing cloud recordings for full instructions on how to interact with Zoom cloud recordings.

Downloading Cloud Recordings

  1. Sign into the Virginia Tech Zoom Web Portal.
  2. Click Recordings & Transcripts. 
  3. Find the recording you want to download and click the three dots on the bottom right.
    Image of the above instructions
  4. Click Download.
    Image of the above instructions
  5. The recording will be downloaded to your computer.

Uploading Zoom Cloud Recordings to Panopto

Once you've downloaded your Zoom cloud recordings to your computer, you can upload the files to Panopto. See Adding Videos to learn how to add videos to your Panopto Video library.

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Viewing Recordings on Your Computer (Local Recordings)

  • Recordings on your computer are saved in your Documents folder in the Zoom subfolder. 
  • Recording folders are named for the date and time of recording, and the meeting name. 

Recordings should automatically convert after you finish recording. If they don't:

  1. Navigate to your computer's Documents folder.
  2. In Documents, open the Zoom folder.
  3. Find the recording you'd like to view and open that folder. 
  4. A meeting recording file will be listed as double_click_to_convert_01.
  5. Double-click the file, and Zoom will convert the recording and show you the conversion status. 
    Image of the above instructions
  6. When conversion is done, the double_click_to_convert_0X file will be replaced by three files:
    • audio_only - an M4A file
    • playback - an M3U file with video and audio
    • zoom_0 - an MP4 file with video and audio
  7. Play the files in a media player. 
  8. If you want to share the recording, you'll have to save the file and share it manually. 

For more about accessing your local recordings and changing the recording location, see Managing computer recordings in the Zoom Help Center.

Troubleshooting Local Recordings

See: Troubleshooting computer recording issues

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Backing Up Recordings

  • Recordings on the Cloud are removed after 2 years, but are automatically saved in My Media in Canvas until the end of the Spring 2026 semester. 
    • Recordings on the Cloud will not automatically be uploaded to Panopto unless scheduled through the Zoom LTI in Canvas.
  • Recordings on the Cloud can be downloaded to your computer.
    • Once downloaded, these recordings can be manually uploaded to Panopto Video.
    • Recordings on your computer can be backed up by saving the entire recording folder that Zoom created to an additional drive. 

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Getting Help

For instructions on resolving common issues with Zoom, see: Video Conferencing - Troubleshooting Zoom.

For problems logging into Zoom, contact Virginia Tech 4Help:
  • Go to 4Help, log in with your Virginia Tech Username (PID) and password, and click Get Help.
  • Call 540-231-4357.

For problems using Zoom, contact Zoom Support:

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